Forgetting Why
by Helenaxrobot
Summary: An extrapolation of Nevil Shute's novel, On The Beach. Two friends find love, even at the end of the world. Life goes on until the inevitable end. OCxOC, only loosely tied to the novel.
1. Chapter 1

Foreword: I don't own the scenarios presented in On the Beach by Nevil Shute. I actually didn't like the book, surprisingly, even though I am usually a fan of dystopia, end of the world novels. Nonetheless, I was encouraged to write a separate chapter of the book. The only connections my two characters share with the book are the common fate in Australia and the time during which John Osborne drives his Ferrari to Harkaway and honks at children in the street on the way there. Enjoy.

Forgetting Why

"Life must go on; I forget just why."--Edna St. Vincent, _Lament_

The sun rose bright on the first day of summer. The birds chirped happily, clinging to branches of lush trees not yet wilting from the nearing heat. As the first radio broadcast of the day began recording, most of Melbourne tuned in to the usually scheduled talk show. Today's topic had been anticipated for a fair week now, and a special guest from the American NASA had even been invited. Instead of the normal broadcast, however, the first news of summer was of war.

The entire northern hemisphere had seemed to erupt in nuclear war overnight. Superpowers tested their weapons with deadly accuracy, and the war was over as soon as it had started, leaving the population of the northern hemisphere dead. The radiation was spreading as well, and although the reporter repeatedly announced that the harmful radiation would never reach Australia because of some odd theory, the citizens of Melbourne had already realized that they were soon to die.

Rhyla Jordan could almost sense her future sapping away with each setting sun. Like the cities they demolished, the nuclear missiles had crushed her dreams of attending college in America. All she had now was her books, books that nobody would read once she was gone. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan rarely read or engaged in any type of intelligent conversation; as a result, Rhyla spent as much time out of doors as possible, observing from under the shade of a tree the neighborhood children as they frolicked in the streets.

School let out the day of the war as the superintendents decided that there were things to do that were more worth everybody's time. Rhyla didn't mind very much; most of her friends had gone on and end-of-the-year trip to England and never returned. All save for one. Ayden Colster was her closest friend in terms of actual understanding, and although most of her classmates did not group them as associates, she found that it was with him that she had the most interesting conversations. He rang her on an afternoon in late December, two days before Christmas.

"Do you want to go swimming with me? It's only three right now." There was no way she could refuse; the heat was overwhelming and she had planned to cool down somehow.

"Sure, just let me grab my suit in a moment. Would you like to come in?" Ayden nodded, smiling gratefully as he stepped into the cool darkness of the entrance hall. "My parents are out until five, so I'll have to leave them a note," she explained, pouring him a glass of water and ice that he accepted and gulped. Rhyla scrambled upstairs, rather pleased that Ayden had taken initiative and biked to her house.

After searching for her bikini for what seemed like an eternity amongst the chaos of her walk-in closet, she emerged and made her way down to the dining room, teal two-piece and towel in hand. Ayden was sitting at the table, gazing out the window at the bright blue sky. Rhyla snuck up behind him and gently rumpled his hair. He turned around with a start and grinned. "Alright, let's go then. I've already got my swim trunks with my bike." Rhyla scribbled a quick note for her parents and laid it on the table, setting Ayden's glass in the sink. They stepped out onto the veranda and Rhyla locked the door, a thin sheen of sweat appearing on her forehead already in the humid heat.

The bike ride to the beach was breezy and cooling, but the heat from exertion gave the two friends plenty of incentive to change into their swimsuits as quickly as possible when they reached their destination. In minutes, Rhyla and Ayden splashed into the salty water, squinting and shielding their eyes from the sun that glinted off the deep blue water in white-gold flecks.

They waded into the deeper water and swam around, racing twice. The first time, Rhyla became afraid that they were out too far and forced Ayden to turn back as well. However, he teased her about her cautiousness, and the second time, it was Ayden who begged Rhyla to stop swimming further. She giggled, backstroking to return to him, both slightly breathless. As they paddled back to shore, Rhyla realized that the sun was already hanging low in the sky. The warm solid sand welcomed their exhausted bodies, and they both laid down, side-by-side, and gazed up at the stunning azure Australian sky.

Rhyla almost didn't notice when Ayden timidly slipped his fingers over hers, and she closed her eyes for a moment, relishing the contact, before snapping to her senses. "Ayden?" she whispered, turning her head to the side. He gazed intently back at her, then averted his eyes bashfully.

"I-I'm sorry…" Rhyla smiled gently at him and took his hand in hers. He looked back to her face. "It's just that we haven't got long to live, and I figured I had to tell you sooner or later. I've liked you for more than just friendship for the longest time, and I don't care whether you feel the same way for me. I've got nothing more to lose, but I have to let you know."

With that confession, Ayden blushed and returned to his usual taciturn demeanor, searching Rhyla's face for her response. She bit her lower lip, a mannerism that Ayden remembered observing and noting as attractive in many moments of silence, and blinked several times. Finally, she closed her eyes and sidled closer to him, her face centimeters from his. She whispered faintly, "I know."


	2. Chapter 2

Forgetting Why: Part 2

It was late and dark by the time they made their way back into town from the beach, and the rumbling in the sky hinted at the upcoming storm. Rhyla rang up her parents and informed them that she was going to be staying at Ayden's house overnight, conveniently skipping their newfound revelations and relationship. Ayden's parents were long dead from the war because they had unfortunately decided to make a trip to the US capital the week the war began, and he lived with his older brother, Airek, in the same house.

"Airek's out for the evening. Another one of those goddamned end-of-the-world parties." Rhyla snickered at Ayden's resentful description.

"Don't worry. We'd probably have more fun here anyway." Ayden rolled his eyes, knowing that they were both far too exhausted to try anything.

After a light dinner of sandwiches and Pinot Noir, Rhyla followed Ayden to his room, and there they fell asleep on his large bed without further incident.

The next morning, they woke later than they had expected. After a quick brunch, Ayden offered to walk Rhyla back home. She consented, and they applied some sunscreen to shield from the sun and set off. It was a bright Saturday, and the children in every neighborhood that they passed were playing either hopscotch or double dutch in the street. As they passed Wadrille Drive, the uncouth roar of a car caused them to back away from the curb of the sidewalk, but the children paid no heed. Promptly, a speeding red Ferrari followed the sound, honking at the obstruction. The kids seemed to pause for a moment, as if wondering what the horn signified, until a couple of concerned mothers screamed for them to move. They shot off the street and back onto their respective driveways, staring in awe as the car zoomed past.

"It's been a while since we've seen one of those."

"The car, you mean?" Rhyla inquired. Ayden nodded. "Yeah, petrol's gotten so expensive because it all comes from up north," she reasoned, pointing to the sky as an apparent north. "Stupid for him to beep at the kids, though," she remarked about the driver of the Ferrari, and, almost as an afterthought, turned around and shoved her middle finger up in the air in the direction of the car's retreating bumper.

"Stop that," Ayden sighed, grinning like Rhyla, and grabbed her hand in his, holding her hand as they walked away from the scandalized mothers and amazed children. A couple of blocks later, they arrived at the Jordan residence.

"Oh, drat! I left my bike at your house!" Rhyla smacked herself on the forehead, huffing out a deep sigh.

"All the better. Gives you an excuse to come to my house," Ayden said, elbowing her playfully. She smiled, hugging him quickly as a goodbye before dashing up the steps to the house door, where her mother waited expectantly.

"You've gone and done it, haven't you?" Mrs. Jordan sighed.

"Done what?" Rhyla asked innocently.

"You two are dating." She said it as a fact, and smiled at her daughter with a knowing look. "Not a bad choice; he's a good boy. And no," she said, holding up a finger to keep Rhyla from speaking, "I won't try to stop you two from doing anything. You're sixteen, old enough to do what you know is right. Although, it is coming near that time, and whatever you do, you won't be around for the consequences." Mrs. Jordan winked subtly, and Rhyla buried her head in her hands, half-hysterically and half-regretfully.

"That's gross, Mom. For your information, I slept in the same bed as him last night, and he didn't do so much as to even try and take of any article of clothing. I'm not that hormonally crazed." And with that graceful assertion, Rhyla bounded up the stairs to her room.

After dinner that evening, Ayden came over to Rhyla's house on her bike to return it. They stepped into the cooling night air and sat on the two wicker chairs on the verandah. The conversation between them was sparse and awkward until Ayden made a remark about the many potted plants on the porch.

"They're nice…but why is that one empty?" He pointed toward the smallest flowerpot, which sat along the wall without greenery sprouting from the soil. Rhyla smiled sadly.

"It's mine. I planted it when I found out about the war. It's an iris, and hopefully I'll be able to see it bloom before…before…" She broke off and looked away, tears welling in her eyes. Ayden stood up from his chair and moved toward her to wrap his arms around her comfortingly. "I didn't want it to end like this. I wanted to do something with my life, y'know?" He nodded, burying his nose in the sweet scent of her hair. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, letting a tear slip out. "I always thought I'd be able to do something great, go to some American college and become…oh, I don't know, a doctor or something successful. And now, here we are, rotting away and just waiting to die here. You…you'll never be able to work for NASA like you wanted, and it's such a bloody waste of life. I mean, you're at the very top of our class, and you'd already gotten early admission to Carnegie Mellon! Don't you feel the slightest bit of anger, of hopelessness?"

She stopped abruptly as she felt a tear drip onto the side of her forehead and turned around, watching Ayden as he took several deep breaths and cleaned off his glasses, hastily wiping away tears. "I've thought about that too, but I think that I can live with that." He cringed mentally at the irony of the statement. "There's not long to go, and I'm just trying to make the best of it. We have to keep on living and doing all the things that we've wanted to do, even if we forget why we wanted to do them in the first place. When we've done everything, even without reason, there's no regret." With this, he knelt down slowly in front of Rhyla and brought his face close to hers. "And you wouldn't believe how long I've wanted to do this." He pressed his lips lightly to hers in a kiss.

Rhyla breathed out deeply after they parted, and she brushed her lips against his cheek. "Um…thank you," she said awkwardly, both their faces flaming.

"Er, yeah. I-I should be going now. Thanks for having me over." Rhyla watched his lanky figure retreating into the night and sighed, smiling.

"He's gotten braver," she whispered to nobody in particular, and, grabbing the white, perpetually-filled plastic watering can, bent down to water her potted iris bulb. "How can a flower bloom just over a day and night? You have to let the water drain in…" she sang softly as the drops of water mingled with her tears in the soil. "Come out pretty for me, okay?" she murmured to the empty pot, and, bidding it goodnight, stepped back into her house.


	3. Chapter 3

Forgetting Why: Part 3

Months had passed. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan were dead, and Airek had disappeared long ago. It was an August evening, slightly chilly with the first strains of spring. Rhyla and Ayden lay naked in her backyard, wrapped in an oversize blanket. Whatever passionate sins they intended to commit were finished up an hour ago, and Rhyla was hit by the sudden urge to stargaze. They faced up at the sky, tired and waiting for the end to come.

"There," Ayden whispered suddenly, pointing at the sky. Rhyla followed the path of his finger to an arrangement of five stars. "That's you, right there…see how the stars connect to an R?" Rhyla nodded. "And there…that's me," he said, pointing to an triangle of five aligned stars, loosely imaginable as an A. "We're right beside each other, flying in the heavens…"

Rhyla giggled at the mental image and nuzzled her face into the crook of Ayden's neck. He smiled gently down at her and stroked her hair. "Those stars will be there long after we're gone. Makes you wonder, if they've seen all that we're capable of, would they want us back?"

"It doesn't matter," Rhyla answered, sitting up. "I have no intention of losing you and thus don't care whether anybody wants you back. They can't have you." She grinned, but Ayden could see the familiar wetness in her eyes. She bit her lip, and offered a small red box and a glass of water to Ayden. He took the box and opened it, taking out one of the while pills and handing it to Rhyla. She put the pill on her tongue and took a mouthful of water, handing the glass to Ayden so he could do the same. They threw their heads back and swallowed at the same time, chills running down their spine as they felt the familiar discomfort of a pill bumping down the esophagus.

Ayden lay back down again and Rhyla bent down to kiss him one last time on the lips. She laid her head on his broad chest and put one hand on his tanned shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her protectively. They drifted off to sleep together to the chirping of the cicadas and crickets.

On the front porch, a strong green stalk stood in the smallest flowerpot, a loose purple bud at the tip. In the lamplight, the lavender petals slowly unfurled to reveal a star center of yellow. The blooming iris stood for a moment, untouched unlike the crisping leaves of the other plants, and released its sweet fragrance to the night, invigorating the still air. And finally, with a sigh, it seemed, the flower drooped and the petals began to brown around the edges, succumbing.

And that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!


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